About a month ago a managerial official of Omaha Public Works agreed to making certain there would be no increase in the footprint of their facility south of the western extent of Levi Carter Park.
Despite this statement, a different situation was present on the morning of April 15th at the very site of the original concern. There were several 55-gallon drums strewn about. They are obviously the property of Public Works, as they are painted in their manner. One of the barrels was several yards from the edge of the area recently filled by Public Works. Others were closer to the embankment.
It is not apparent how the drums got to where they were located, but they are certainly not situated where they belong. There were no other drums of this type in the vicinity, and including atop the fill site.
Pictures of the drums that are trash in Levi Carter Park. Note also the unnecessary and unwelcome trash.
If barrels are to be stored at this site, it should be done in a manner to make certain they stay were placed, despite miscreants or weather.
Update: on the morning of April 18th, there were no barrels at this site ... they had been removed.
Site Wetlands
During the visit, it was also noted the presence of wetlands on the west side of the area filled by Public Works. Any jurisdictional wetlands are protected by Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. It is not known whether the wetlands became established after the filling, or were there prior to any past action to increase the size of the facility.
It is illegal to fill jurisdictional wetlands without a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
On the afternoon of April 16th, the Omaha Regulatory office of the Corps of Engineers was called and asked to investigate this situation. They said they "would take care of it."